Murder at St Mary's
by kaleen1212
Summary: A patient dies of seemly natural causes at St. Mary's Hospital. But when it happens several times, Sister Agatha asks Chief Robert T. Ironside to look into it.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Ironside characters. They are the creation of Collier Young. All other characters were created in my imagination for the purpose of telling this story.

My Ironside fiction is written in the present day rather than in the time that the series took place.

All fanfiction written by me follows a timeline. However it does not necessarily follow the timeline of the show itself. After all it is called fiction!

My stories are written to stand alone. However, they may refer back to my other stories and/or episodes of the Ironside Series.

Murder at St. Mary's

Chapter 01

1.1

Katherine DeNureve entered St. Mary's hospital. Her high heels clicked against the freshly waxed floor of the hall. The charity event was just around the corner and Katherine was visiting the hospital to work on last-minute details. She turned left at the first corridor. Sitting on the right-hand side was a man in his early fifties in a wheelchair. His entire left side appeared to be in a cast.

Katherine smiled at the man as she passed him. She wasn't sure if she was smiling at him or because she was thinking about another man in a wheelchair. She was meeting with Robert T. Ironside regarding the security of the charity event. She had been mesmerized by the man from the moment she met him on that air flight to Montreal. She had never seen more beautiful piercing blue eyes on any other man in her life. He was a handsome man with an almost melodic voice. He was intelligent and brilliant in his field. When he smiled he displayed cheek-long dimples that Katherine found endearing.

Chief Ironside had solved the bombings that had been happening in San Francisco. The head of the French revolution in Canada, Pierre Fougère, had blamed Robert Ironside for nearly destroying the movement while visiting Montreal. He traveled to San Francisco and was able to obtain a nuclear weapon. Fougère kidnapped Barbara Jones and Robert Duvalier. With one of them strapped to a nuclear bomb and the other to a conventional bomb, Robert's mother made a startling revelation. The child that she had named after the San Francisco detective was in fact his son and not the son of Jacques Duvalier.

Ironside raced against time to stop Fougère and saved the lives of not only his son and the woman he loved but also the entire city of San Francisco. What Katherine did not know was that Barbara Jones left San Francisco and Robert Ironside for good.

Katherine stopped a nurse in the hall. "Can you tell me where I can find the therapy department?"

The nurse smiled. "Absolutely, take the next hall to your right. It is down at the end of the hall. Did you check in at the desk?"

"What? Oh, I am not a patient. I am here to see someone."

The nurse frowned. "Would that be a therapist or a patient?"

"I am here to see Chief Ironside. I believe he is in therapy now."

"I am sorry but you will probably have to wait until he is finished. No one is allowed in therapy except patients," the nurse said apologetically.

"The meeting was arranged by Sister Agatha," Katherine told her.

"In that case, go through the doors on the right. You will find Chief Ironside in there." The nurse smiled at her and then went on her way.

1.2

"What is it you are asking me to do, Mr. Haynes?" asked Billy Carson.

"My insurance company cannot continue to pay the cost of one of your patients. I never saw anybody take so long to die of cancer." Morgan Haynes sat down in a chair beside Carson.

Billy shrugged. "Then maybe your insurance company should not be offering catastrophic insurance."

"Yes, I know that. Isn't hindsight wonderful," snarled Haynes.

"Exactly what is it you want me to do about it?" asked Billy.

"It is my understanding that you have a son with leukemia."

Billy jerked his head toward Morgan Haynes. "How did you know that?"

"It is my business to know that. Let's just say it was brought to my attention. I am guessing you could use some help with medical bills. Am I right?"

"What's it to you?"

"I might be able to help you with that," Haynes replied.

"Yeah, just how are you going to do that, short of paying the bills for me?" Billy said sarcastically.

"There is a way. But you might have to do something you might find distasteful."

"Such as?" Billy asked warily.

"You would have to help us reduce the amount we are paying out in insurance claims."

"You are out of luck there, buddy. I don't work in billing. Why would I alter the billings and take a chance of losing my job even if I did work there? I may be up to my ears in debt but I have to keep a roof over my family's heads."

"My understanding is that it won't be long and you will not even have a roof over their heads. You are going to be foreclosed on soon."

Billy cried angrily, "Just where are you getting your information? None of this is any of your business!"

"Like I said, it is my business to know. Don't get all bent out of shape. I can help you with your problem if you will help me with mine." Morgan Haynes lit up a cigarette.

"You can't smoke in a hospital," Billy said.

"What are you, the smoking police? Lighten up. God, you are wound tight as a drum."

"Listen, I have to get back to work. My break is up." Billy stood up but Haynes put a hand on his shoulder.

"Someone you don't know arranged for me to talk to you. Your shift is being covered for the time being. So just sit there and listen." Haynes took another puff from his cigarette.

"So how can you help me?" Billy asked.

"By you helping us. As I said, our insurance company cannot sustain the cost it is taking to help keep a dying man alive. The man needs to check out. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, but that is up to the Almighty," Billy said.

"It doesn't have to be," Haynes disagreed.

"Will you stop beating around the bush and say what you came here to say?" Billy snarled.

Morgan Haynes crushed the cigarette against the desk. "Okay. My company is willing to pay your son's medical costs if you are willing to help us reduce our skyrocketing claims."

"And just how am I supposed to do that?"

"By helping Mr. Holcomb check out before he bankrupts us."

Billy's eyes widened in shock. "You want me to murder him?"

"Murder is an ugly word, Mr. Carson. It is more of a mercy killing. Now tell me. If you had a dog with terminal cancer, what would you do? Would you keep treating him so that he just hung on by a thread or would you do the human thing and put him out of his misery?"

"Carlton Holcomb is not a dog!" Billy cried out.

"No, he is not but don't you think he deserves the same humane treatment? After all, he is just going to die anyway. Why not put him out of his misery? Jack Kevorkian had the right idea. Think of it as assisted suicide."

"Jack Kevorkian went to jail," Billy pointed out.

"Because he was not smart in how he handled it. He practically slapped law enforcement in Michigan in the face. He should have done it quietly, like you and I are going to do."

"I am not killing anyone!" Billy shouted. "Find yourself another assassin."

"Calm down, my friend. You are not going to be an assassin. Besides, doesn't your son need a bone marrow transplant? How are you going to pay for it?" Haynes asked.

"I'll find a way."

"Sure you will. You are about to lose your house. You are barely feeding your family and your car payment is behind three months. We will end that, if you do as we ask. Think about it. I will contact you." Morgan Haynes got up and headed out. "Just remember, all we are asking you to do is put people out of their misery. They will be terminal patients only. No people that are not terminal will be touched. Oh, in case you have any ideas about going to the police, don't. We know where to find your kid." Haynes walked out.

Billy sat down and put his head in his hands and began to cry.

1.3

Katherine opened the door to the therapy wing and entered.

The attendant at the desk immediately asked, "May I help you?"

"I am looking for Chief Ironside."

"I am sorry but Chief Ironside is in the middle of his therapy right now."

Katherine smiled. "I know that. He asked that I meet him here."

"Are you with the police department?"

Katherine shook her head. "No. I am in charge of the charity event. I am meeting Chief Ironside. He is speaking at the event and he is in charge of security."

"If you will have a seat, he will be finished in about an hour."

Katherine took a seat. Five minutes later, Sister Agatha opened the door and walked in. "What are you doing in here? Robert wanted you to come in to the therapy room."

"I am afraid that is my fault," the woman behind the desk said. "I was not aware of that. I had her sit down and wait for him."

"Follow me," Sister Agatha said.

Katherine followed the sister past a number of rooms. She stopped at the last one. "He's in here." She opened the door and gestured for Katherine to enter in front of her.

As soon as she entered, she saw Robert Ironside. He was standing between two parallel bars, balancing his body between them. Katherine had not realized how tall he was. She estimated that he was six feet two inches tall. She had never known him before he was shot by the sniper's bullet. It just occurred to her that this was the first time she had seen him out of his wheelchair, let alone standing.

"No cheating, Robert. You are to walk both ways twenty times," Sister Agatha barked at the detective.

"Twenty! That can't be right. I only did ten last time," grumbled the chief. "Ask Mark."

Sanger, who was sitting at the back of the room, put up both hands. "Don't drag me into this. I am just the driver."

"Thanks a lot, Mark," Ironside complained. His aide simply smiled.

As Ironside turned his body to walk between the bars to the other side, it was then that Katherine noticed the braces on both legs. Obviously, they were to keep his legs from collapsing under him. He dragged both legs forward as he moved the length of the bars. What a shame, she thought, that such a virile man had to be confined to a wheelchair.

He was dressed in a pair of sweat pants with a V-neck t-shirt. Sweat poured down his face and neck to dampen the hair on his chest. Katherine could only imagine how hard it must be to support one's entire weight with your arms and walk back and forth between those bars…no, walk was not the right word. That would be much easier than dragging legs that you had no control over. The courage and determination of this man never ceased to amaze her.

When he turned toward her, he noticed her seated in a chair by the door. Ironside smiled. "Good morning, Katherine. I did not hear you come in."

"I did not want to disturb you," she said, returning the smile.

"I have a couple more of these to do and I will be finished." He continued to drag himself between the bars.

"You have seven more to do and not one less," Agatha called out.

"Don't mind Sergeant Agatha. She has nothing better to do than come in here and harass me. And I have one more to do," he called out over his shoulder.

"Six! And not one less," Agatha said without looking up from what she was doing.

Katherine laughed at the banter between Sister Agatha and Robert. Despite the arguing, Katherine knew how fond of each other they really were. This time she knew who had won as Robert turned and headed back down to the other end. When he had completed the turns, he stopped. "Are you satisfied, Sergeant Agatha?"

She walked over to him and said, "You better take a shower. You cannot hold a conversation with Katherine smelling like that. She will not be able to talk to you while holding her breath."

Katherine and Mark laughed at Ironside's expense. He did not get a chance for a comeback as Agatha left the room.

"Mark, get me into the shower but take these braces off first."

"You really did not think I would leave them on you, did you?" Mark asked. "You would rust like the tin man." Mark helped his boss out of the braces and back into his chair. He wheeled Ironside out of the room.

Katherine waited patiently while Ironside showered and changed back into his customary suit. She was surprised how little time it took him. Mark wheeled him back into the room within twenty minutes.

"I did not expect you back so fast," she said as he re-entered. "How often do you come here for therapy?"

"He is supposed to come once a week," Mark interrupted, "but it is more like once a month by the time I can drag him in here... kicking and screaming."

"Once a month of this torture is enough," Ironside grumbled. "And I can't kick in case you haven't noticed."

"It would not be torture if you would come in when you are supposed to. Your strength would be built up. And, you do scream. You would kick too if you could."

Katherine laughed at the banter between Mark and Ironside. "If you think you can get into my car, I thought we could discuss the charity event security over lunch... my treat."

Ironside looked up at Mark. "I'll see you back at the office." Mark took that as the dismissal it was intended. He said goodbye to Katherine and left.

"He is very found of you, you know. I can tell."

Ironside grinned. "It goes both ways but if you tell him that, I will deny it." He watched as she laughed at him. She really was a very beautiful woman, he thought, but then another beautiful woman crept into his thoughts and he felt guilty.

"Is there something the matter, Robert?" she asked him.

Ironside smiled at her. "No, nothing. Now, I will take you up on lunch on one condition… my treat."

"I really wanted to take you for all the help you have given me."

"Nonsense, I have not done much of anything. It is my treat. Besides, I will turn the bill over to Agatha. It will be my revenge for the way she tortures me when I come in here."

They both laughed together and left the hospital.

1.4

"What did Carson have to say?" the man asked Morgan Haynes.

"He said he would not kill anyone," answered Haynes. "But I would not take that to be final. He is in debt up to his ears and his kid needs a bone marrow transplant. Despite working in a hospital, he really has lousy insurance. Oh, it covers him all right but it is limited on what it covers for the kid."

"When will you know if he will help us?"

"He doesn't know it yet but the insurance company is only going to pay one third of that bill. He can't afford to pay the bill he has already run up on the boy. When he is hit with that news, he will agree to take money from us."

"You will make sure that we have something on him so that we can force him to continue?"

Haynes shook his head. "Will you relax? Everything is going to be just fine. Once we have him. We will be in business. We will get rid of the ones that are dragging us down. There is one matter that concerns me."

"And what is that?"

"How are we going to make sure the terminal patients are admitted to St. Mary's?" Haynes asked.

"You leave that to me. You just make sure that kid is on board and you have control of him."

"You let me worry about Billy Carson. You just make sure the patients check into St. Mary's."

"What exactly did you tell him we would be doing?"

"I told him they would only be terminal patients and that is what we will do until we have him hooked. Then we will take care of the others," Haynes said.

"What about that nosy nurse, Sister… what is her name?"

"Sister Agatha. She will not be a problem as long as Billy Carson makes the deaths look like natural causes."

"You better make sure he does. You know who that sister would call if she suspects anything at all, don't you?" he asked.

"Sure I do," Haynes replied, "Robert T. Ironside."

"I don't want to tangle with Ironside. You make sure we don't have to. I have five insurance companies that will be seeking our services. All of them are a little nervous that Ironside will get wind of it. I have assured them that it will not happen. See to it that it doesn't. Keep under Ironside's radar. Is that clear, Morgan?"

"It's clear. Stop worrying. Ironside will not know a thing about it."

"He better not. It is important that you have Billy Carson aboard and under control. He will be the key to the entire operation."

"I will. I'll call you when we are ready to start." Morgan Haynes got up and left the room. As he slid into the driver's seat of his Mercedes, his mind wandered back to Ironside. The only way Ironside would find out about the operation would be through Sister Agatha. She would have to be watched closely. Her suspicions could not be raised. If she suspected anything the least bit out of the ordinary, she would run to her crippled cop friend. That could not be allowed to happen even if it meant eliminating the nosy nun.


	2. Chapter 2

Murder at St. Mary's

Chapter 02

2.1

"Who have you decided will be in charge of the security detail during the event?" Katherine asked Ironside.

"Sgt. Brown will gladly donate his time for a good cause," he responded.

Katherine smiled. Ironside had to look away momentarily. He could not resist that smile. It was so genuine and it lit up an already beautiful face. He told himself to keep his mind on the business at hand. He was sure what he was feeling was because he was missing Barbara so much. Maybe Katherine just reminded him of how much.

"How do you know Sgt. Brown will donate his time?" she asked.

"I know," was all Ironside offered.

"How do you know? Have you asked him?"

"No. I don't have to ask. He'll do it and so will Officer Whitfield and Lt. Reese and if we need her, so will Officer Belding."

"You aren't going to order them to do it, I hope," Katherine said.

"No. That will not be necessary. You just leave that to me."

"Robert, I wanted you to know I really appreciate your help with security. It looks like we are going to have nearly eight hundred people for this event." She placed her hand over his.

Ironside looked down at the feminine hand touching his. It stirred something within him that should not exist right now. After all, Barbara had only been gone a short time. What was it about this woman that made him feel completely comfortable and completely uncomfortable at the same time?

"It is nothing. Sister Agatha would have roped me into helping anyway." Ironside laughed. "Ever since I was a patient in her hospital, Sister Agatha thinks she is my guardian angel and that seems to include torturing me once a month and working the charity event every year."

Katherine smiled at him, helping set him at ease with her. "She loves you, Robert. That is why she pushes you and looks after you." She touched his hand again, making him uncomfortable yet not wanting her to withdraw it.

They talked more about the charity event security and then conversation turned to other interests they both seemed to share. Finally, when Ironside noticed the time, he knew he had to end their lunch and return to the office.

"Would you mind dropping me off at headquarters?" Ironside asked her.

"Of course not." Katherine knew she wanted to see him again and soon but she was unsure how to arrange it without being obvious. "Do you think security is all set up or do we need to meet on it again? 

They had already met on it more than Ironside had done in the past five years but he heard himself say, "We better meet and finalize everything. Since you insisted on paying for this lunch despite my attempts to pass on the expense to the good sister, we will hold the next one at my office on Friday. You can come for dinner."

That had worked out better than she could have hoped. "Only if you let me cook."

"Not a chance. My place. I will handle the cooking," Ironside insisted.

Katherine drove him back to his office. She said goodbye and drove away from police headquarters. She wondered why he had chosen Friday night. She would have thought he would spend Friday night with Barbara.

At least she knew the charity event security could not be in better hands. How could anything possibly go wrong?

2.2

Billy Carson had been sitting in the office for over two hours. No one had come out to speak to him. He could not believe these people. His son's life was on the line and they could not even find the time to discuss his insurance. He looked around the room. He seemed to be the only one that was not being waited on. What was wrong with these people?

Billy thought about earlier. How in the world could that man think he would murder somebody? He really should report him to the authorities. But he had his son to worry about. He could not take the chance that Haynes might make good on his threat. His son was everything to him, he would not take a chance with his life.

Billy was getting tired of waiting. He got out of his seat and headed to the desk. The woman at the desk did not even look up at him when he arrived. "Excuse me, could you help me please?"

"I am sorry sir, but you are going to have to wait your turn." Her voice was short and her tone was nasty.

"I have been waiting my turn. People have gone in ahead of me that were only here after I came in."

"They have to take them according to the type of insurance that they have. There is only one man that handles the type of insurance that you have. You will have to wait until he is available. Now, please sit down, sir, and wait."

"I have been waiting. I've been waiting for two hours. How much longer is it going to be?" Billy's frustration had him raising his voice.

A man walked up to the gate that separated the customers from the employees. "Mr. Carson, I can see you now."

Billy walked through the gate and followed the man to a desk in the corner of the room. He gestured to Billy to sit down in the chair in front of the desk. "I am sorry for the wait, Mr Carson, but it could not be helped. There were many people ahead of you and I am the only one that handles your type of case."

"What about my case? Are you going to be able to help me?"

"Your insurance policy carries very little catastrophic care. You have already used up all of the help that we can give you."

"Just a minute, are you telling me that you will not pay any of the bone marrow transplant cost?" Billy asked in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Carson, but there's nothing we can do for you."

"But there must be something you can do. My son needs a bone marrow transplants. I don't have the money for it." Billy's voice was full of desperation.

"Since this is a life-threatening condition, the hospital has to do the surgery."

"I am aware of that, sir. However, I can lose my job if I don't pay the hospital. I won't have the money to pay the hospital. Without a job, I will lose everything... my house, my car. I can't pay my bills as it is. They have already shut off the cable. They are threatening to shut off the electricity. Just what in the hell am I expected to do?"

"I am sorry. There's nothing else I can do to help you." The man stood up in dismissal.

Billy just sat there stunned for a moment. What was he going to do? Why did no one care about his son? Of course, he would see to it that he had the bone marrow transplant but how would he pay for it? He stood up and looked at the man in front of him. "I hope you never have to face the day when your son has a life-threatening condition and nobody will help you." Billy walked away with tears in his eyes.

2.3

Morgan Haynes picked up the phone and dialed his boss. He waited for him to answer.

"You better have some good news for me."

"I just got a call from our insurance contact. Billy Carson was turned down just as we paid the guy to do. He will receive no more insurance money for his kid."

"Excellent! Alright, Morgan, he is ripe for the picking. Now reel him in."

"Yes, sir. I'll take care of it right away." Morgan hung up the phone. He smiled to himself. Everything was right on schedule. Billy Carson would cooperate. He would do anything for that kid. It was time to call upon Mr. Carson.

2.4

Sister Agatha walked into Carlton Holcomb's hospital room. "Good afternoon, Mr. Holcomb. I am sorry I was unable to get in earlier today. How are you feeling?"

"Not very well, I'm afraid," he answered her. "Sister, do you believe in God?"

"Under the circumstances, I would think you would know the answer to that question," Sister Agatha replied.

"Well, I guess I do know the answer to it. I guess what I'm really asking is do you ever lose faith in God?"

Agatha picked her words carefully. "I sometimes do not understand him. But no, I never lose faith in God."

"I have been sitting here for a few days with nothing to do but think. I cannot understand why he would allow something like this to happen to me."

"The Lord moves..." Sister Agatha began.

He waved his hand at her. "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before."

It broke the sister's heart to see people lose faith. And yet it was something she saw all the time in the hospital when people were dying. She had known Carlton Holcomb all of his life. He was a good man, a good husband and a very good father. He would be leaving behind three children and a wife who all loved him very much. Like her, he was of the Catholic religion. He attended Mass regularly and believed in the Almighty. How hard it was for some people to accept God's path for them.

When their lives were in danger some people gave up and others like Robert T. Ironside fought with everything within them to live. She knew this man had terminal cancer. God had selected his path. Nothing could change that now. But Agatha knew she had to find some way to help him find peace. She sat down on the side of the bed beside him. The sister took his hand in hers. "We cannot always understand his plan for us," she said. "None of us were ever intended to live on this earth forever. While we are here, we live the life he wants us to. We follow his path and one day he calls us home. He is calling you home, Carlton. It is natural to be scared. But you have to believe that he has a higher purpose for you. You have to have faith that it will be a better life than you have here."

With tears in his eyes, he squeezed her hand. "You always know what to say, don't you?"

"No, I do not. I only know that my faith is strong and I believe in the Almighty's plan for all of us." She squeezed his hand back. "You are a good man. You have lived a spiritual life. You have provided for your family both in life and after death. If anyone is prepared to meet their maker, it is you, Carlton."

"Thank you, Sister." She smiled at him.

"Well, I have other patients to see. I will stop in and see you later." Sister Agatha looked back at Carlton and smiled before she left the room.

She walked back to the front desk. "Please give me Carlton Holcomb's chart," she said to the nurse at the station. She read all of the latest entries including the doctor's notes and comments. She handed the chart back to the nurse and then went on her way.

2.5

Robert Ironside read the report in front of him. As a sitting member of the Board of Trustees of St. Mary's Hospital, it was his obligation to make sure the hospital was running smoothly. With all of the work he had to do right here in his own office, he could not understand how he allowed Sister Agatha to talk him into becoming a trustee.

He smiled to himself when he thought about the sister. She was one of the few people that he knew could speak to him in the manner she did. The only other one that got away with it was Eve. And even then, Eve knew when she could do it and when she could not. Agatha could do it at any time. Someday he would have to learn how to say no to the woman.

As usual the reports were in order. Ironside could see nothing that needed to be questioned. Agatha did her usual efficient job. He thought back to those few years ago when he was lying in a hospital bed at St. Mary's. If it hadn't been for the medical staff at the hospital he would not be here at this moment. He remembered all of the agonizing hours he laid in that bed thinking about never being able to walk again. He did not believe it then but of course they were right. Agatha had spent countless hours with him, talking to him... trying to prepare him for what was ahead and to convince him to accept it and move on. Ironside believed in the Almighty but he spent little time in any church in San Francisco. His job never allowed him to be a regular worshiper anywhere or even think about it very much. He had depended on his faith, his raw determination and Sister Agatha, to recover and accept his newfound limitations and make something of the rest of his life. Between the sister and his staff Ironside eventually did except those limitations and make the best of them.

Over the years Sister Agatha and Ironside had become very close friends. Neither one of them would have admitted it to the other but both know it to be true.

"Chief, are you listening to me?" Eve asked, bringing Ironside out of his thoughts.

"What? Oh, I am sorry, Eve. What did you say?"

"Did you want to answer the City Council's questions regarding why you opened every single entry into the tunnels under San Francisco to find Pierre Fougère or shall I?"

Ironside's blood began to boil. How could the City Council even question his methods in stopping a nuclear bomb from exploding in the city? Before he lost control of his temper he knew that Eve was the one to answer the inquiry. "I think your reply would be much more polite than mine, don't you?"

Eve smiled. She could not understand after all the years the City Council had known Robert Ironside why they would even send the inquiry. They had to know him well enough to know what his response would be. "I will answer the inquiry for you, Chief. At least that way it will be able to be read to the City Council without a few ears turning blue."

"I don't care what color they turn as long as I don't have to address these stupid questions. Mark! Would you get me another cup of coffee, please?"

Mark Sanger came out of the kitchen with the coffee pot. He walked over to Chief Ironside and poured fresh hot coffee into his cup. "Chief, Ed, Eve and I were thinking of going to the show this Friday. There is a new police drama out and this time I think it is one that you will be interested in."

"Thank you, Mark. I appreciate the invitation but I cannot go. Katherine DeNureve is coming here to the office Friday for dinner to finalize all of the plans for the charity event at St. Mary's."

"She's coming for dinner?" Eve asked with a smile.

Ironside looked up at his police woman. "I believe that is what I said. Is there something wrong with that?" he asked gruffly.

"Of course not, Chief," Eve answered. "It's just that you have spent more time on security for this event than all events before it put together."

"Then I take it," Ironside said, "that you feel the extra time is a waste of time?" He knew what she was thinking and he was not about to discuss it with a member of his staff. So he decided to head her off.

"Why no, of course not. It is just that..."

"It is just what?" Ironside snarled.

"Nothing," Eve muttered. She picked up her report, took it to the file cabinet and filed it, dropping the subject.

The door to the office opened and Sergeant Ed Brown entered. He walked down the ramp and joined Ironside at the table. "I have rounded up thirty-two off-duty officers to help with the charity event. Is that enough, Chief?"

"Ed, how come you didn't ask me?" Eve inquired.

Without looking up from his paperwork, Ironside said, "That number includes you... Both of you."

"Oh," Eve remarked, realizing she wasn't being given a choice in the matter.

"That includes you too, Mark," Ironside informed him.

"But I am NOT a cop, off duty or otherwise."

Ironside finally looked up from his paperwork. "No, but we'll find something for you to do." He smirked, knowing fully well not one member of his staff would turn him down.

"Did you ask the chief about Friday night, Eve?"

"He's not going," Eve informed Ed.

"Well, why not? This movie is about an honest cop. There will be no breaking of rules in this movie," Ed said.

Eve smiled. "The chief can't go because he has a date."

Ed looked at Ironside. "You have a date?"

The chief scowled at Eve. "I do not have a date. Katherine is coming to the office to finalize the plans for security for the charity event. That is all."

"He is serving her dinner," Eve said with a smile.

"Dinner?" Ed looked to the chief for an explanation.

"Both of us have to eat. I don't know how long it will take to finish up the security. Since she is coming here at dinner time it is only polite to have dinner on the table. Or don't you people have any manners?"

"Chief, do you want me to stick around and fix dinner?" Mark asked with a playful look in his eyes.

"You are going to the show. I will take care of dinner."

"But I can stay if you need me," Mark said, grinning.

"I wouldn't think of depriving you of seeing such an academy award-winning film," Ironside snarled.

Ed, Eve and Mark smiled at one another. But they knew when to quit teasing the chief. Ed changed the subject. "Did you get the reports from St. Mary's Hospital?"

"Yes," Ironside answered. "Everything is in order as usual. Sister Agatha is very efficient."

"There is nothing you want us to look into?" Ed asked.

"Why would I have you look into anything? You are a policeman, not an auditor."

"I don't know..." Ed stammered. " I guess I just thought I'd offer."

"What is going on around here?" Ironside growled.

"Nothing," Ed answered.

"Nothing," Eve repeated.

Mark just shrugged his shoulders.

"Then is it too much to ask that we get some work done?" Ironside clamored.

Ed and Eve went back to their respective assignments. Mark headed into the kitchen to plan dinner.

Ironside knew he had been hard to live with in the weeks since Barbara's departure. He had been pretty rough on his staff. They knew he had been hurting and he knew that they were only trying to cheer him up with a little good old-fashioned ribbing. He hoped they understood that he was just not able to share his pain yet.

2.6

"Well, Billy, what will it be? Will you let us help you? The system obviously doesn't give a damn about you or your kid but we can help you."

"Am I supposed to believe that you care about me or my kid?" Billy asked.

"Life's a bitch, Billy. No one cares about anybody but themselves these days. But you already know that. Or if you didn't you are certainly finding it out. What I am offering you is a chance to get out of the hole you have been dug into. None of the people we are talking about are healthy. They are all going to die shortly anyway. So why not help your kid live? All you have to do is cooperate with us. We will tell you who you are to eliminate. You take care of it and make sure it looks like natural causes. You will be paid for each individual that we have to remove. And Billy, you will be paid extremely well. You won't have to worry about where the money is coming from for your kid's bone marrow transplant. You won't be worrying about how you're going to pay your mortgage. You will be able to catch it up and keep it up. All you have to do is keep your mouth shut and do as we tell you to do. Your troubles will be over. Not just your current troubles but also any that you might have in the future. You will make enough money to take care of everything. Now, what do you say?"

Billy looked at Morgan. The sight of him made him sick. He was about to turn him down and then he thought better of it. What about his kid? What about his wife? How was he going to take care of them? The money was gone and there was none forthcoming from the insurance company. Nobody would help him. Was this his way out? Possibly, but could he do it? Could he end someone's life? Could he murder another living human being? Because that's what it would be, murder.

Billy thought about all of this and then finally gave Morgan Haynes his answer.


	3. Chapter 3

Murder at St. Mary's

Chapter 03

3.1

Billy Carson entered the room of Carlton Holcomb. The man was sound asleep. He walked over to the man's bedside. Billy watched as Holcomb's chest heaved up and down. He reached into his pocket for the syringe that contained the drug that would end Carlton Holcomb's life.

Could he take the man's life? The thought of killing another human being was deplorable but what choice did he have? He needed money. His son must have the bone marrow transplant. Otherwise he would die. He would not be able to live with himself if he allowed his son to die so that someone that was already dying could live a few more days or weeks. No, his son was only a boy. He had his entire life ahead of him.

Was Morgan Haynes right? Was this nothing more than a mercy killing? Why let the man suffer? After all, society would not let a dying animal suffer. They would put it out of its misery... would they not? Just how was this any different?

Billy fingered the syringe in his pocket as he fought his conscience. He did not have a choice. His son must come first. Billy started to pull the syringe out of his pocket.

"Mr. Carson!" sounded the German voice behind him.

Billy jumped at the sound of Sister Agatha's voice. He allowed the syringe to drop into his pocket and turned to face Sister Agatha. "Yes, Sister."

"What are you doing in Mr. Holcomb's room?"

"I was passing by and heard him moan. I was checking on him, that is all."

"This room is not part of your assignment. I suggest that you stick to your side of the wing. Now go!" she scolded.

Billy left the room with his hands in his pockets. He did not want Sister Agatha to see how bad his hands were shaking.

3.2

"Chief, why don't you invite Katherine to go to the show with us?" Eve encouraged their boss.

"You can always discuss the charity event afterwards," Ed added.

"Come on, Chief. You said it was not a date. We all can get dinner first and then go to the movies. Since we all are going to be working at the charity event, we can discuss it over dinner." Mark knew the chief's mind was already made up but he hoped the three of them ganging up on him might change his mind.

"No, you three go on and enjoy yourselves. I am going to stick to the original plan."

Eve shrugged. She knew that trying to get the chief to change his mind was a waste of time at this point. It was already made up. "Well, I guess we will take off then."

"Good night, Chief," Ed said as he followed Eve up the ramp. Mark grabbed his jacket and left with his colleagues.

Ironside wheeled to the kitchen. He reached in the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of wine. He glanced at the label, DeNureve Vineyards. He pulled two glasses from the cupboard as well. Wheeling back to the table, he set the glasses down and poured the wine into the glasses.

Ironside wheeled back to the kitchen to check the meatloaf. As he opened the stove door, there was a knock on the door. He closed it back up and wheeled up the ramp. Ironside opened the door. Katherine DeNureve smiled and handed him a bottle of wine from her winery.

"Come in, Katherine," Ironside said with a smile.

Katherine followed Ironside down the ramp. "You didn't have to go to such trouble, Robert."

"It is not any trouble all. Please sit down," Ironside said as he pulled out a chair for her. Katherine took the seat he indicated and watched him wheel back to the kitchen where he put a tray on his lap and then opened the stove. Ironside put the meatloaf on the tray and took the vegetables off the stove and added them to the tray. Lastly, he took the salad from the counter and placed it on the tray as well. Ironside wheeled back to the table. After removing everything from the tray and placing it on the table, Ironside took his place at the table. He served Katherine and then himself. "Please, go ahead, we can discuss security for the event after dinner. Right now I would like to hear more about the vineyards."

3.3

Carlton Holcomb rested comfortably after having received his pain medicine. He had become drowsy and was on the verge of falling asleep. The pain was subsiding as his eyelids became heavy. He did not hear the sound of the footsteps of the person who had just entered his hospital room.

He turned out the only light that was on in the room. The lights from the hall would provide all the light that he would need. He pulled a syringe out of his pocket. He reached up and took the tubes that were feeding a solution into his veins. He put his finger on the plastic tubing in one hand and plunged the contents of the needle into the tube, now adding the deadly drug that would end Carlton Holcomb's life.

3.4

Sister Agatha looked directly into the eyes of the chief medical officer who ran the hospital. "I think there should be an investigation of the young man."

Dr. Peter Witt shook his head back and forth. "I think you are making way too much of this. He had a logical reason for having gone into the man's room."

"He had no business being in that section of the hospital. At the very least he should be brought in and questioned," Sister Agatha insisted.

"I appreciate your concern, Sister, but I really don't think it is necessary," Dr. Witt said with finality in his voice.

"Alright, Doctor. It is your decision." Sister Agatha left his office with an uneasy feeling.

3.5

Ironside wheeled to the door with Katherine alongside him. When they reached the door, Katherine stopped and looked at Ironside. "Robert, I just can't thank you enough for the help you have given me."

"It was not much," Ironside insisted.

"Well, I could not have done it without you. And I certainly could not have found people for the security work the day of the event."

Ironside smiled. "I do admit that is easier for me to set up the men and women to handle the security the day of the event. Not one officer said no." He looked up at her and grinned.

Katherine chuckled. "They are all scared of you. It is a good thing they can't see through that rough, tough image of yours. They would see you for what you really are."

"And what is that?"

"A kind and gentle man who is a sucker for helping others."

"Don't you believe that for a minute. I am every bit the rough, tough cop they think I am," Ironside insisted.

When Katherine laughed, he could not help but notice how it lit up her expression. She really was a very beautiful woman. "I will see you on Saturday." He smiled at her.

Katherine bent down and kissed his cheek. "Your secret is safe with me. Thank you for everything."

As Katherine left the office, Mark Sanger walked in. "How was the movie?" his boss asked.

"Chief, this is one time you should have come with us. It was worthwhile seeing. None of that breaking all the rules. This was about a by-the-book cop." He noticed that Ironside was not paying much attention to him. "Something wrong, Chief?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing," he answered.

"I take it the security is all set for the charity event?"

"What? Oh, yes, everything is fine."

"Is there anything I can get you before turning in?"

"No, Mark. I'll see you in the morning." He turned away from Sanger and wheeled over to the window.

Mark hesitated and then went into his room and shut the door.

3. 6

Sister Agatha looked at a chart for one of the residents and then turned toward one of the nurses that had just arrived at the nurses' station. "Is Mr. Woodford's room assigned to you?"

"Yes, Sister. Is there something wrong?"

"He is supposed to have his medicine at nine o'clock. It is not marked on the chart."

"I am sorry, Sister, I simply forgot to mark his chart," the nurse said.

"That is inexcusable," Sister Agatha said sternly. "Someone could give him the medicine again. In his case it would not have harmed him but in others it could be fatal."

"Yes, Sister, I will mark his chart right away. It will not happen again."

"See that it doesn't," Sister Agatha scolded.

Another nurse came rushing to the nurse's station. "Sister Agatha, come quickly! Mr. Holcomb is not breathing!"

Sister Agatha took off toward Holcomb's room. When she arrived, she immediately checked his pulse. He did not have one. "Get Doctor Prentis in here now!" The nurse ran out of the room in search of the doctor.

A few minutes later Dr. Prentis came into the room. "What happened?" he asked as he began checking the man's vital signs.

"I don't know, Doctor," Nurse Amy Sanchez answered. "I was in his room about twenty minutes ago and he was fine. I talked to him. He was pretty sleepy from the pain killer he had received. He asked me for another pillow. I left long enough to get it and looked in on another patient. When I returned, he was like this."

"His heart has stopped! Get the paddles!"

"We can't do that, Doctor," Nurse Sanchez said. "He signed a paper saying that he was not to be resuscitated."

"Are you certain?" the doctor inquired.

"Yes, Doctor. I am certain," Amy told him.

"Well, in that case make note of his time of death. You better call his family."

"This should not have happened," Sister Agatha said, shaking her head. "There was no reason for him to die yet."

"He was terminal. It was expected," Dr. Prentis said.

"No sir, not at this time. He had no history of heart trouble and the cancer was not far enough along to take him yet."

"Well, something killed him, Sister," Prentis said.

"I think there should be an autopsy," Sister Agatha insisted.

"Oh please, there is nothing to indicate that this was anything but a natural death," Prentis said.

"An autopsy will confirm or disprove that," Agatha said.

"There is not going to be an autopsy. It simply is not necessary. The man died of a heart attack."

"You don't know that, Doctor," Agatha argued.

Dr. Peter Witt entered the room. "What is going on in here?" The head of the hospital lowered his voice to encourage his employees to do the same.

"We lost Mr. Holcomb," Sister Agatha announced.

"We have lost patients before. This is no way to behave. What is the problem? "

Agatha explained Holcomb's condition. "I feel an autopsy should be performed."

"That is ridiculous!" argued. "The man died of a heart attack."

Dr. Witt shook his head. "An autopsy would have to be approved by the family but if you really feel that something is fishy about his death, Sister, then go ahead and get the authorization."

Satisfied she had won this one, Sister Agatha left the room.

3.7

Morgan Haynes sat in front of his desk. "Well, was Holcomb taken care of?"

Haynes smiled an evil smile. "Like clockwork."

"Good. And it was done to look like a natural death?"

"It was," Haynes replied.

"No complications then?"

"No... Well, nothing that can't be handled."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Sister Agatha demanded an autopsy."

"I knew that old busybody was going to cause problems."

"There is no problem."

"Then the autopsy was denied?"

"I didn't say that. Dr. Witt allowed it."

"What? This is not good."

"Relax. They will find nothing in an autopsy," Morgan said.

"How do you know?"

"The drug used cannot be detected. It causes the heart to stop but leaves no trace of having been used," Morgan told him. "Stop worrying. Everything is under control."

"Under control? That nosy nun must have thought something was wrong or she would not have requested an autopsy. You know who she will run to if she suspects foul play."

"If that is the case, Billy Carson will get the blame. I made sure the money is going to an offshore account. It will not be hard for Ironside to track if she enlisted his help. But there is nothing for her to give Ironside to go on."

"You better be right. I don't want Ironside involved."

"He won't be, so stop worrying."

"Maybe you better start worrying. You may not have lived in this city very long but I have been here all my life. I manage to stay under his radar. It is the only way you can operate in this town. You avoid getting Ironside's attention."

"I may have not lived here very long but only an idiot has never heard of Ironside. I don't want to tangle with him anymore than you do. I am keeping an eye on Sister Agatha. If she gets too close, I will take care of her personally."

"See that you do. I have another one to be taken care of. William Bauer...78 years old. He had been a drag on the insurance company for a long time. The old man is taking his sweet time dying. I would like you and your man to speed up his departure."

Morgan asked, "Do you know what room he is in?"

"No, but I am sure you will find out. Take care of him, Morgan, and do it tonight."

3.8

Sister Agatha walked into the nurses' office behind the station on Billy Carson's floor. "Mr. Carson, I would like to speak with you a moment."

Carson turned to face the woman that was in charge of all the nurses in the hospital. Billy had always liked Sister Agatha. She was a no-nonsense type of woman that was loyal to the people who worked for her...if you did your job and kept your nose clean. "Of course, Sister, what can I do for you?"

"You can start by telling the truth as to why you were on the wrong floor and why you were in Mr. Holcomb's room." The nun stared directly into his eyes.

"I told you the truth, Sister. I simply heard the man moan so I went into his room to see if I could help. It was right at that time that you walked in. There really was nothing else to it."

"What were you doing on the floor?" Agatha asked him.

"Actually, I came to see you."

"You gave no indication of that when I saw you."

"Well, unfortunately I was concerned about your mood. I had upset you. When I talk to you I want you in a better frame of mind," Billy said.

Sister Agatha did not accept that explanation. "Suppose you tell me now what you came to speak with me about."

"My son is going to have surgery shortly and I wanted to make sure I can get the time off." Billy knew he was skating on thin ice. However, he could just not think of an excuse for why he would want to talk to her other than his son.

"This hospital has always been understanding regarding the children of its employees. You should know that."

He could tell from the look on her face that she was skeptical. "It is a very important surgery, Sister."

"All surgeries are important, Mr. Carson. What is your son having surgery for?"

"It is a bone marrow transplant." He knew he had blundered. If she suspected anything about him going into Holcomb's room, he would be her number one suspect when something happened to him.

"You have nothing to be concerned about. You will be given the time off."

"Thank you, Sister."

Sister Agatha turned to go. Suddenly she stopped and turned around. "Have you been in Mr. Holcomb's room since?"

"No, of course not."

She nodded and left the room.

Billy wondered what that was all about. After all he was a hospital employee. A registered nurse going in to see a patient was not unusual in this hospital. Exactly what was she suspicious of?

The door to the office opened and Cindy Viner walked in. "The good sister is certainly on the warpath today, isn't she?"

"She's just doing her job, Cindy."

"Huh! Does her job include harassing all of us? She has been asking everyone who they saw in Holcomb's room. He had a heart attack. She acts like someone deliberately did something to him."

Billy looked up from his paperwork. "She really thinks he didn't die of natural causes?"

"She hasn't come out and said it but she is acting like a detective on a murder investigation."

"Has she found out anything?"

"What's there to find out? The man died of a heart attack."

"Then no one saw anyone go into his room?"

"Oh, for cripes sake! You are beginning to sound like her. I have work to do." She turned and left the room.

What did Sister Agatha know? Billy was worried. She had seen him come out of Holcomb's room. He did not have time to worry about this right now. His son was having surgery in a few days and he had another job to do.

3.9

Chief Ironside wheeled into his office. Ed Brown handed a cup of coffee to his boss. "Chief, Sister Agatha called. She said she needs to talk to right away."

"Eve, get Sister Agatha on the phone for me, will you please?"

"Right away, Chief." Eve stepped to the nearest phone and dialed St. Mary's Hospital.

"Ed, have you taken a look at this report?"

"Yes, I have," Ed answered.

"And?"

"I would say the odds of that many people dying of heart attacks at a hospital is suspicious. What I mean is they all had a common denominator," Ed said.

"Every one of them had a terminal illness, yet everyone of them died of a heart attack before the disease could take them."

"That's right, Chief. Look on page six of that report," Ed said.

Ironside leafed through to page six.

"Nothing showed up in the autopsy of any of the ones that was posted." Ironside frowned. "There are substances someone could have used that would cause a heart attack but nothing shows up in the autopsy."

"But proving it would not be easy," Ed said.

Eve joined them at the table. "Sister Agatha was not available. I left a message for her to call you."

"Ed, I think it warrants looking into it." Ironside turned his attention to Eve. "I wonder what Agatha wants to speak with me about. Is it possible that St. Mary's is having the same problem?"

"I can go over to St. Mary's and talk to her," said Eve.

"No," Ironside replied. "All of you have been seen at St. Mary's quite a bit because of me. If there is a problem, I don't want to alert someone who is involved. We will wait for Sister Agatha's call. In the meantime, Ed, I would like you to go over to San Francisco General and start asking questions."

Ed got up and headed out of the office.

3.10

William Bauer was resting comfortably. He had been sedated for the night. Since the drug had taken hold, he had become completely oblivious to anything around him.

The door to his room opened. The man entered quietly and shut the door behind him. Approaching the patient, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the syringe. He inserted the tip of the needle into the opening of the tubing. Using his thumb, he plunged the fluid into the tubing.

He went to the door and left just as quietly as he had entered. Nobody noticed him.


	4. Chapter 4

Murder at St. Mary's

Chapter 04

4.1

Sergeant Ed Brown entered San Francisco General Hospital. He stopped a nurse in the hall. "Can you tell me where I can find the doctor in charge of the hospital?"

The nurse laughed at him. "At this hour? You are kidding, right?" Ed pulled out his badge and showed it to the nurse. "Oh, you are not kidding. Well, Sergeant, he is not here in the evening. You will have to come back during the day."

"Maybe you can help me. Has there been any talk regarding people, terminal patients, that is, dying before the actual disease takes them?"

"People die for a lot of various reasons, Sergeant Brown."

"Yes, I know that but I am asking about only the terminal patients dying before the disease would have been the cause of their deaths."

"I will be honest with you if you will not tell the bosses here that I have talked to you."

"You have a deal, Miss?"

"Foley, Roberta Foley."

"Alright, Nurse Foley. What can you tell me?" Ed asked.

"There has been a lot of that happening here. The disease that some people have had was not far enough along to kill them."

Ed frowned. "Had there been any investigations into any of the deaths?"

"That is the weird part. No, there has not. Every time someone suggests that there be an investigation, they are transferred to another department. I am one of them in fact. I used to work in the cancer unit but when I went to the chief of medicine, he would not listen to me. He just insisted that they all were dying and that it was to be expected. But some of them were not at the point that cancer could have killed them. Not long after I went to see him, I was transferred here to emergency. I started in emergency. So as far as I am concerned, this was a demotion."

"I think I would like to see the reports of the doctors on some of those patients," Ed said.

"Good luck with that. They don't let anyone see them. They even have the families on their side."

"But they don't have my boss on their side."

"You mean Chief Ironside." She smiled.

"That's right." Ed smiled back at her.

"And he is on the advisory board of this hospital and that of St. Mary's. So he would have automatic access to all records in the hospital." She grinned.

"Not exactly. But he will be able to get access," Ed told her.

"Good. If Chief Ironside needs any help, you tell him I was on duty a lot of those nights and I would like to blow the whistle on these people. Something very wrong is going on here and they are trying to make sure anyone that knows anything is kept quiet."

"Thank you, Nurse Foley. I am sure the chief is going to want to talk to you himself."

"I will be happy to. Just tell Chief Ironside to call anytime."

"Thank you, I will." Ed smiled and moved on.

4.2

"Sister Agatha! Come quick!" Nurse Bloomington shouted.

Sister Agatha ran after the young nurse. "What is it?" she said on the run.

"It's Mr. Bauer. He's dead!"

"What? He was just fine the last time I checked on him!" Sister Agatha hurried into the man's room. She immediately checked his pulse. She could not find one. "Call Dr. Prentis in here right away."

The woman left the room as quickly as the two of them had entered. Within a minute she returned with Dr Prentis.

"We will have to shock his heart. Are there restrictions on resuscitation?" Prentis asked.

"I am having that checked now but I am quite certain that it is not allowed," Sister Agatha responded.

The nurse's aide entered the room. "It is prohibited."

"Well, that is it then. Record the time of death as two a.m.," Dr. Prentis ordered.

"And the cause of death?" Sister Agatha asked in a tone that told Prentis that she was already questioning the cause.

"Heart attack," Prentis said.

"Another unexplained heart attack, Doctor?" Sister Agatha asked raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, for God's sake! This is a hospital, Sister. People die, especially terminal patients. Stop making such a big deal of it!"

"Three times in the last two days? None of these patients had heart problems and their afflictions could not have taken them yet."

"I don't have time for this nonsense and neither do you so get back to work."

Sister Agatha watched as Dr. Prentis stormed out of the room. She turned to the nurse and said, "Call the morgue." She then left the room as well.

She had to talk to Robert. She was convinced that something was going on. These people had not died of natural causes. She was convinced of it. If it was not incompetence, then it only left one thing... murder.

4.3

Ironside took a sip of coffee. He made a face and looked at Mark. "Do you think you will ever learn how to make coffee?"

"It's going to be one of those days, huh?" Market responded, grinning at his boss.

The door to the office opened and Sergeant Brown walked in. As he came down the ramp, Ironside growled, "I stayed up half the night waiting for you to call, Sergeant."

"Yeah and I'll bet Mark's coffee is lousy this morning too." Ed walked into the kitchen, poured a cup and then joined the chief at the table.

"Well, I assume you learned something last night," Ironside prompted his sergeant.

"It seems there is something strange going on at San Francisco General as well." Ed repeated his conversation with Nurse Roberta Foley.

"That's a start. I would like to talk to her, Ed, but I don't want anyone to know about it. Arrange to bring her in but make sure you are not followed. Now what about the others you talked to?"

"She was the only one willing to talk to me. I approached ten people and all of them quickly brushed me off as soon as they found out what I wanted to talk to them about."

"They are scared, Chief," Mark suggested. "If Roberta Foley was transferred out of the cancer unit questioning unexplained deaths then they are probably worried about their own jobs."

"It's more than that, Mark," Ed said. "It is as if they are just plain scared and not because of the job."

"Do you think they suspect foul play?" Ironside inquired.

"Well, Nurse Foley sure does and she is not shy about saying so. If she does, you can bet some of the others do as well."

"But why would they not take their concerns to someone who could do something about it?" Mark questioned.

"If somebody is actually killing patients in that hospital and some of the medical staff suspects it, they may not have enough evidence to take it any higher up," Ironside explained.

"And getting that evidence could be dangerous," Ed added.

"It could be fatal if they were to talk to the wrong person," Ironside surmised.

"That would certainly explain why they did not want to talk to Ed," Mark agreed.

The chief looked around the room and then at his watch. "It's nine thirty. Where is Eve?" As if on cue the door opened and Eve entered the office. She came down the ramp and sat down at the table.

"Good morning, everyone," she said cheerfully.

"You are late, Officer Whitfield," Ironside said, his voice gruff.

"I think you will overlook it when you find out what I have been doing." Eve smiled and looked from Mark to Ed and finally to Ironside.

The chief waited a moment until the silence got to him. "Well?"

"I checked to see what doctor was on duty at San Francisco General when the deaths occurred and do you know who it was?"

Ironside waited for her to continue and when she did not, he growled in frustration, "This is not twenty questions, Officer Whitfield!"

Deflated but not deterred, Eve said, "You are not going to believe it."

The chief shook his head. "I'll decide whether or not I believe it if you ever tell us."

Eve grinned. "It was the same doctor on duty every time a death of a terminal patient occurred. The doctor's name is Doctor Todd Prentis."

"There is a doctor at Saint Mary's by the same name," Ironside said to no one in particular. "Ed, call Sister Agatha and find out the first name of the Doctor Prentis that she works with."

The door opened and Sister Agatha called out as she entered, "Todd Prentis. He came over to us from San Francisco General Hospital." The sister came down the ramp and sat down beside Chief Ironside.

Ironside looked into her tired face. "You look like you were up all night, Sister," Ironside observed.

"So do you," she snarled. "At least I have an excuse. I was up all night. What's your excuse, Robert?" That drew smiles from Ed, Eve, and Mark as the battle of wits was on.

"Your damn charity event," he responded. "As if I don't have enough to do."

She looked down at the uneaten eggs and bacon in front of the detectives and snapped, "The bullet did not kill you so you are trying to do yourself in with that cholesterol-infested meal."

"Blame Mr. Sanger. He made breakfast. Besides I don't even like eggs."

"You should be eating oatmeal for breakfast or are you determined to add to your waistline?" Mark, Ed, and Eve had begun snickering. The smiles on their faces were threatening to turn into grins.

"Oh, I can't gain any weight as long as you continue to torture me in therapy... sending me up and down those parallel bars a hundred times," he complained.

"It was twenty times and you would not have to do it so many times if you would show up more often."

His staff was straining to keep from all out laughter. "I might show up more often if you didn't torture me every damn time I came in."

"Robert, one more damn and you're going to hell," she scolded. They could not contain themselves any longer. Mark, Eve and Ed burst into laughter.

"Did you come in here to annoy me or did you have another reason?" Ironside barked.

In her German accent she answered, "I came in here for another reason. Annoying you just turned out to be one of the perks." Ironside's staff began laughing again.

Ironside could not hold back the smile. "You are still as sharp as ever."

She smiled back at him. "You, however, are getting a might rusty."

"Oh, I don't know, I got in my licks." He grinned. "Well, Sister, this is not just a social visit. You have been trying to reach me. What is it you wanted to discuss with me?"

"Robert, I believe someone is killing patients at Saint Mary's." She waited for that to sink in.

"We think it is going on at San Francisco General as well," Ed told the nun.

Sister Agatha told them about Carlton Holcomb and William Bauer and the reaction of Dr. Prentis. "There was simply no reason for either of them to die when they did. Neither man had heart problems. It just does not make sense."

"Was an autopsy requested?" Ironside asked.

"Dr. Witt authorized me to contact the family since Dr. Prentis ruled it a heart attack. I contacted Holcomb's wife and she has authorized it. It will be done today," Agatha told him.

"Eve, I want the result of that autopsy as soon as it is available," Ironside ordered.

"Yes, sir," Eve responded.

"Robert, I am convinced that someone killed those two men." Agatha reached out and put her hand over his. "Will you find out what happened to them?"

"We will find out what is going on. Now what have you done so far?" Ironside asked her.

"I went to talk to Dr. Witt regarding investigating Billy Carson," she told him.

"Billy Carson?" Ironside asked. Agatha explained how she found him in Holcomb's room and then went on to tell him about his son. "How was he going to pay for this surgery? Would he have insurance to cover a bone marrow transplant?"

"The hospital has insurance that covers the employee but it doesn't extend to the members of the family unless the employee pays for the family plan."

"Does he have the family plan?" Ed asked.

"I checked personnel," Sister Agatha told them. "He does have the family plan and it would cover a good deal of the operation but he would still be left with a very large sum to pay."

"What do we know about his finances?" Eve asked. "Is he in debt?"

"I am not in the habit of getting into the personal lives of the staff," the nun said.

"No, only the patients," Ironside grumbled.

"Let's not start that again," Mark interrupted. "We won't get anything done."

Sister Agatha looked back at Ironside. "They don't understand us, do they, Robert?"

Ironside smiled but said nothing. "If he was deeply in debt, he could have been taking money to eliminate those two men."

"Why not just file bankruptcy?" Ed asked.

"Because," Sister Agatha answered, "if he included the hospital in the bankruptcy, he would lose his job. All employees sign a statement to that effect."

"Ed, I want you to do some checking into Mr. Carson's finances. Eve, you check with the insurance company. Find out how much they have paid on behalf of Carson's son and what Carson's portion of the hospital bills is." Eve and Ed acknowledged his orders.

"Robert, what can I do to help?" Agatha asked.

"Nothing. If someone is indeed killing patients, you may already have alerted the killer by your suspicions. Keep your eyes open but make no more waves, is that clear?" Ironside looked at her, waiting for reassurance she would obey him.

"But there is so much more I could do. I could..."

"You could get yourself killed. You will do nothing except keep your eyes and ears open. Leave the police work to the professionals. I don't tell you how to do your job."

"Huh... that will be the day," she corrected.

"Sister, if you were going to kill a patient and make it look like natural causes, how would you do it?" Ironside asked.

"Well, there are drugs that could be added to his IV that would cause a heart attack but not show up in an autopsy but I don't think I would do it that way." He wrinkled her forehead.

"How would you do it then?" Eve asked.

"I would pull back an empty syringe so that it filled with air and then insert it into the IV causing an air embolism, therefore causing a heart attack."

"And I will bet that is exactly the way they did it," Ironside agreed. "No missing drugs to be discovered later. Nothing in the autopsy. It would be quick... less chance of being discovered. Nice neat package. Makes it easy for a doctor to rule it death by natural causes... heart attack."

"But then how do we prove it?" Mark asked.

"There's a way," Ironside responded. "But first things first. Sister, can you inventory the drug supply to see if anything is missing? I don't believe there will be but I don't want us taking anything for granted."

"Yes, but it will draw attention."

"Not if no one knows you are doing it. Could you do it during the charity event? Most of your people will be at the event. It will leave the staff on duty very busy. It should give you the time you need to get the job done. Eve will cover you and make sure no one interrupts you."

"I should do it during your speech. The staff at St. Mary's is very fond of you. They will all want to hear your speech," Agatha said.

"How much time do you need to complete the inventory?" Ed asked.

"About an hour," the sister responded. "Robert, can you talk that long?"

"Are you kidding?" Mark asked sarcastically.

Ironside shot him a look and then said, "I will keep them busy. You just do the inventory."

Sister Agatha stood up. "It is settled then. I will see all of you at the charity event." She looked down at Robert Ironside and smiled. "Thank you, Robert. I knew I could depend on you." She kissed his cheek and left the office.

4.4

"So far so good. We have another one who needs to be eliminated," he said.

Morgan Haynes shook his head. "I don't think this is such a good idea. We have taken care of two of them very close together. We should wait a while to do the next one."

He did not like hearing about any delays. "Terminal patients don't plan on terminal illnesses. We can't be sure when the next one will happen along and this one is just too much money to turn down. So you see to it that Billy Carson takes care of him. The man's name is Jody Dent. He has stomach cancer but he is taking far too long to depart this world so we are going to help him along."

"Jody Dent? Please tell me he is not the same Jody Dent that is on city council."

"One and the same," he answered.

"Are you out of your mind? You were the one that told me to stay below Ironside's radar and you want to kill a city council member. That damn nosy nun is already suspicious and you want to kill a city council member? What if Ironside gets curious? He probably knows the condition of this man. What if he gets suspicious and talks to that nun about it?"

He was starting to lose his temper. "You just do as you are told and let me worry about Ironside and that nun. This one is to be done while that charity event is going on. That way the nun will not be there. The hospital always runs a skeleton crew during that event... at least for part of the event. Some of those that are on duty will slip over to the event leaving very few on duty. It will be a perfect time to take care of Jody Dent. You see to it that he takes care of it. Is that clear?"

Haynes didn't like it. "I still think we should cool it for a while."

"Well, I don't and I am calling the shots. You just take care of business."

"Alright, but I am going on record that this is the mother of all mistakes. It could be the cause of our downfall. I can't believe after what you have said that you would chance Ironside's wrath."

Morgan Haynes got up and left. Ironside... he did not want a run in with that man.


	5. Chapter 5

Murder at St Mary's

Chapter 05

5.1

Chief Ironside wheeled into the room. He spotted Ed Brown and motioned for him to join him. Brown came immediately to his side. "Where is Sister Agatha?" he asked.

"She will be along in a minute," Ed answered. "She is getting the drugs ready to do the inventory."

"Is Eve with her?" Ironside inquired.

"Yes, she is keeping an eye out to make sure Sister Agatha is warned if anyone enters."

Ironside looked around the room. He smiled when he saw the size of the crowd. This was a much larger crowd than the previous year. "Ed, what about the security?"

"We have plenty of men to cover the entire event. Everyone is in place."

"Where's Carl?"

Ed looked around. "I don't know, Chief, I saw him earlier but I have not seen him lately."

Ironside saw Katherine DeNureve headed in his direction. He looked at Mark and Ed. "Well, don't just stand here... start mingling."

"Mingle..." Mark said, looking at Ed with a smile as he glanced at Katherine. The two of them left, knowing it was the boss' way of dismissing them to have a private moment with Katherine.

"Hello, Robert." She smiled as she approached him.

Ironside reached out and took her hand. He kissed the back of it and smiled. "Hello, Katherine. You look lovely as always."

"And you look handsome in a tux." She bent down and kissed his cheek. "I cannot believe the number of people that have shown up. I could not be more pleased."

"Yes, this is the largest crowd that I can remember," Ironside agreed.

"I hope you don't mind but I have you seated with me at the head table."

"I not only do not mind but I was expecting it. By the way," he said with a smile, "have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"

She smiled back at him again. "In fact you did."

"Well it is worth repeating because you are beautiful," Ironside told her.

"Can I get you a drink, Robert?"

"Please, bourbon," he answered.

Katherine left Ironside and headed toward the bar. A man approached the detective from behind. "Chief Ironside, I doubt that you remember me but..."

Ironside turned his chair toward the voice. "Dr. Warren Carmody, chief of Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital." Ironside put out his hand.

"I am surprised that you remember me, Chief. We only met once." The doctor shook Ironside's hand.

"I am very good with faces. I am surprised to see you here. You are in competition with this hospital for business," Ironside pointed out.

"I prefer to think of it as we are partners in helping people with their medical care. Besides, the last time we held a charity event, Sister Agatha was there to work the event and made a sizable donation as well."

"Will you be staying for dinner?" Ironside asked.

"Of course. I would not miss your speech."

"Then I will see you later." Ironside wheeled away as he noticed Katherine heading toward him carrying drinks.

"Shall we sit down?" Ironside suggested.

Katherine followed him to the main table. Ironside wheeled up to the only spot at the table that did not contain a chair. He took the drinks from Katherine, placed them on the table and guided her into the chair beside him. It was then he noticed the name cards that had been placed there. He had indeed chosen the correct placement as his name card was in front of him. Katherine's had been placed to his left. The name card to his right read Barbara Jones.

"I have not seen Barbara," Katherine said.

"She will not be joining us tonight," Ironside replied with no further explanation.

"Oh I am sorry to hear that," she said.

Ironside lifted his glass and said, "Here is to a successful event." Katherine lifted her glass and they drank to his toast.

5.2

Commissioner Randall stepped into Jody Dent's hospital room. Dent opened his eyes. "Hello, Dennis. You must be here for the charity event."

"I did promise Bob that I would drop in on the event but I really came to see you. How are you feeling?"

"Not a very good question to ask a dying man. I just might tell you," Dent replied.

"I am really sorry, Jody."

"I guess you just never think of it happening to you. It always happens to some other poor sucker."

"For what it is worth you have made a hell of an impact on this city," Randall told him.

"Thanks, Dennis, but I have not done much. Bob Ironside has made a hell of an impact on this this city. Probably more than anyone else. If he were lying in this bed then that praise would be deserved but not for me."

"I wish there was something I could say that..."

"Don't try, Dennis. There isn't but I do appreciate you coming to see me."

"Do not worry about Jill. I will see that she is well taken care of."

"Now if you want to feel sorry for someone, Jill is the one. Her first husband died in a car wreck and then she married me."

"She loves you, Jody."

"She loved her first husband too but he is still dead."

Commissioner Randall did not know what to say to his friend. He could not imagine what he was feeling. He lowered his head.

"I am sorry, Dennis. I guess I am just feeling sorry for myself." He smiled. "Go on, you better go over to the charity event."

"Get some rest," Randall told him.

"I will. Give my regards to Sister Agatha."

"I will." Randall smiled and left the room.

5.3

Officer Eve Whitfield entered the room where the drugs were locked in. "Sister, Chief Ironside wants you to return to the charity event. He says people are asking for you."

"I am finished in here for now anyway," she said. She locked the cabinets and followed Eve out of the room.

Sister Agatha returned to the event and went straight over to Robert Ironside. She bent down and whispered in his ear, "It is ready to be inventoried." Ironside said nothing. He only nodded in acknowledgement.

Sister Agatha headed to the stage and stood in front of the microphone. "Can I have everyone's attention please?" The room that had been full of chatter of people became quickly silent. "I welcome all of you to this year's Charity event. The staff of St Mary's Hospital would like you all to know that we appreciate your support. I would like to point out the table on the far back of the room. Please visit this table. The success of this event depends entirely on every one of you in this room. All donations will be used for a variety of reasons. Some of those being to help handicapped individuals, cancer patients, terminal patients and those who need help paying medical bills because of no insurance. Your generosity will be greatly appreciated by all.

"We will be having several speakers from the hospital tonight to showcase some of the advancements past charity events have made possible. The guest speaker tonight will be the celebrated former Chief of Detectives Chief Robert T. Ironside and now a consultant to the San Francisco Police Department." Applause sounded around the room. "As most of you know, Chief Ironside was a patient in this hospital after he was shot by a sniper. Since that time he has been confined to a wheelchair. That, however, did not stop Chief Ironside. He has become the most successful detective in the country." There was another round of applause throughout the room. "Chief Ironside has graciously accepted our invitation to share his experience with you. But first as an expression of our appreciation dinner will be served."

Sister Agatha left the stage and returned to her seat beside Ironside. Mark, Ed and Eve joined them at the table as the caterers made their way around the room.

Ironside noticed Commissioner Randall walk into the room. He turned to Eve and said, "Have the Commissioner join us." Eve left the table, went over to Commissioner Randall and led him back to the others.

"Hello, Bob," Randall said. He looked at Katherine and said, "Mrs. DeNureve, so nice to see you again. Sister, as usual you have done an outstanding job."

"Thank you, Commissioner," Agatha replied. "However I cannot take credit. It belongs to Katherine. She was in charge of the event this year."

"Commissioner," Katherine returned his greeting.

"Have a seat, Commissioner," Ironside said. Randall sat down beside Sister Agatha.

Dinner was served and the conversation flowed freely. Eve kept an eye on Katherine and Ironside. The two seemed almost oblivious to the others at the table. They spoke mostly to each other. Eve could see that Sister Agatha was amused by the attention the two paid to each other.

When dinner drew to a close, Sister Agatha leaned over and said to Katherine. "It is time to introduce our guest speaker."

Katherine got up and walked to the front of the room with Sister Agatha. Agatha spoke into the microphone. "I hope everyone has enjoyed their dinner. As almost all of you are now finished, I would like to start tonight's program. At this time I would like to turn the program over to this year's chairman. She had worked tirelessly for our event and I must say she has been able to do something I have not. She was able to charm a grumpy, cantankerous police detective to share his experience with all of us tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, Katherine DeNureve."

As the applause sounded around the room, Ironside assisted Katherine out of her seat. She joined Sister Agatha on stage. "Good evening to all you. I can't tell you how much your donations are appreciated by the hospital staff. First of all I would like to thank Sister Agatha for all the help and direction she has given me throughout the last year. I never could have done it without her. We also owe a debt of gratitude to Chief Ironside and the San Francisco police department for providing security for this event. What we would like to do is show you how your money was spent last year. With the help of Sister Agatha and some members of her staff as well as some former patients we will demonstrate some of the equipment that we have been able to provide for people in need. The first thing we will show you is..."

Carl Reese and Ed Brown leaned over each of Ironside's shoulders. "We just got the results of the autopsy on Carlton Holcomb."

"And?" Ironside asked.

"Nothing, Chief," Carl said.

"Then the cause of death will remain listed as a heart attack."

"Except for one thing..." Ed said. "It was not a heart attack in the conventional sense. According to the medical examiner's office, they could find nothing wrong with the heart. It just stopped."

"But it will still be listed as natural causes," remarked Ironside.

"Yes, sir," answered Carl.

"Alright. We'll meet on this later." Ironside motioned for the two detectives to sit down.

Sister Agatha and Katherine had completed their demonstration of the new equipment the hospital had obtained. Katherine then went back to the microphone and said, "And now I would like to introduce the evening's guest speaker. Although Chief Robert Ironside needs no introduction, he's going to get one." Laughter rippled throughout the room. "Chief Ironside became the youngest Chief of Detectives in the history of the San Francisco Police Department. Several years ago he was shot by a sniper's bullet. He spent three months in St Mary's Hospital recovering from that wound. As Sister Agatha will tell you, one of the hardest things to tell someone with a spinal cord injury is that they will never walk again. Yet that is exactly what the doctors here at St Mary's had to do with Chief Ironside.

"With courage and determination, being a paraplegic could not deter him. He graciously accepted a request from Commissioner Dennis Randall to return to the San Francisco police department as a consultant."

Dennis Randall, who was taking a sip of coffee, choked on the coffee and coughed. Ed, Eve and Mark looked at one another and smiled.

"Since then Chief Ironside has become a legend in criminal detection. We have been able to convince him to come here tonight to share his experiences with you. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce to you tonight, Chief Robert T. Ironside."

Ironside backed up his wheelchair and wheeled to the front of the room. A hospital employee pushed Ironside's chair up the ramp and onto the stage that had been created so that he could be seen by the crowd.

As he waited for the applause to die down, he glanced at Katherine and smiled. "For those of you who know me, you are aware I am NOT good at describing or showing my emotions. Of course if you spoke to my staff they would probably tell you I'm very good at showing frustration and impatience. Don't believe a flaming word of it. It has nothing to do with frustration and impatience. I simply expect everything to be done yesterday." Once again laughter prevailed throughout the room.

No one in the audience had noticed that Sister Agatha had disappeared from the stage. Ed Brown and Eve Whitfield had taken advantage of the standing ovation that Ironside received upon being introduced and also had left the room. Nobody noticed, that is ... except Robert Ironside.

5.4

"How long will this take?" Sergeant Brown asked Sister Agatha.

"It will take even longer if I stand around here answering questions," Agatha responded, which caused Eve to smile at Ed.

"Alright, Eve, you stay here and make sure no one enters. I will be right back." Brown disappeared through the door.

5.5

"I cannot believe that you showed up here tonight of all nights. Ironside is out there giving his speech right  
now. Are you out of your mind?"

"Relax," Morgan Haynes said. "Ironside will never know that I was here. I came to deliver a message."

"Message? What message?"

"The boss wants another elimination."

"Have the two of you completely gone insane? You want me to commit murder with Ironside sitting out there?"

"What's the big deal?" Haynes asked. "Ironside sits wherever he is." Haynes grinned.

"That's not funny. I am NOT taking care of anyone tonight."

"You'll do as you are told. Or would you prefer to have your little secret revealed?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't do it. I just won't do it tonight. Ironside is out there. He will be called in here immediately."

"There would be no reason for the hospital staff to call Ironside back here. You're just being paranoid. You will do it the same way you did the other two. No one will suspect a thing and he will be dead," Morgan Haynes told his accomplice.

"He? Who am I supposed to take out this time?"

"Jody Dent."

"Jody Dent! The city councilman? You are both mad! You want to kill the city councilman right under Ironside's nose?"

"Why don't you shout just a little bit louder? Maybe you can get Ironside to come back here and watch you do it," Haynes said sarcastically.

"I don't care what either one of you want. I am not killing Jody Dent with Ironside sitting in the next room. That would be committing suicide. I'm not stupid and I have no intentions of getting caught."

Morgan Haynes slammed his accomplice against the wall. "I have just about had it with you. You will stop your sniveling and do as you are told. If Dent doesn't die tonight, that nosey nun will find out that you have been altering the shipment of Vicodin that has been coming in here. She will find out about your little addiction. How long do you think you will last working here if Sister Agatha finds out you have been stealing the Vicodin as it comes in and reporting a different amount than what has actually been shipped in?"

"Look, I said I would do it. Just not tonight. Not with Ironside sitting out there."

"You will do it tonight. If he's not dead by morning, then I blow the whistle on you," Haynes threatened.

"Alright, alright! You win. I'll do it!"

"That is more like it. See how easy it can be when you cooperate." Haynes let go of his accomplice. "Remember, he must be dead by morning." Haynes turned and left the room.

5.6

Eve noticed the puzzled look on Agatha's face. "Is there something wrong, Sister?"

"It doesn't add up."

"What doesn't add up?" Eve asked the nun.

"There is a shortage in one of the drugs," she responded.

"Could it be the drugs used on the victims?"

"No. If someone overdosed on Vicodin, it would definitely show up in an autopsy."

"Is there anything else missing?" Eve asked.

"No. Everything tallies other than Vicodin," Sister Agatha answered.

"We will wait for Ed and then go tell the chief."

5.7

"I appreciate you coming by," said Jodi Dent. "The commissioner was here earlier."

"I think you can expect a visit from Chief Ironside when he is finished with his speech."

"Yes, I would like that. I really would like to tell the chief how much I admire him."

"Is there any chance I can talk you out of that, Jody?" Ed smiled.

Dent laughed. "Sorry, Ed. You'll just have to live with him."

The door to Jody Dent's room opened. Billy Carson came in quietly. He was startled when he saw Ed Brown. "Oh, I am sorry. I did not know you had company. I just stopped in to see if you needed anything."

Councilman Dent smiled. "Thanks. But no, I don't need anything."

Carson glanced at Ed Brown and then left the room.

Ed could see that the councilman was tired. "I better go and let you get some sleep."

"I am sorry, Ed. But they gave me something to make me sleep. I can barely keep my eyes open."

Brown smiled. "No apology necessary. I'll see you later, Jody."

"Goodbye, Ed."

5.8

Ed walked in just as Sister Agatha and Eve were finishing up. They told him of the shortage in the Vicodin.

"Sister, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Vicodin a narcotic?" Ed inquired. "It would show up in the bloodstream."

"That is correct," she responded.

"Well, let's go tell the chief," Ed said.

5.9

He opened the door to the councilman's room and peeked in. The room was dark and no one was visible. Councilman Dent was sound asleep.

The accomplice walked over to his bedside. He pulled the needle from his pocket. Drawing back the syringe, he filled it with air. The accomplice inserted the needle into the IV and plunged the air in. Moments later Jody Dent was dead.

5.10

"Before we rejoin the others," Agatha said. "I would like to check in on Councilman Dent."

"I just came from there," Ed said. "He was sound asleep."

"I would still like to check on him anyway."

"It will only take a minute, Ed," Eve told him. "Why don't we go back and join the chief? Sister Agatha can join us when she's finished."

As they stood down the hall from the councilman's room, the door opened and what appeared to be an aide walked out of the room. Sister Agatha did not recognize the individual. "You, stop right there!"

The accomplice looked and then turned and ran in the opposite direction. Sergeant Brown and Officer Whitfield took off after him.

When the accomplice reached the corridor, he turned to his right and continued running. Just around the corner a nurse was carrying a tray. The accomplice ran into the nurse, knocking the tray out of her hands as she fell to the floor. Sergeant Brown leaped over her and continued the chase. Eve stopped long enough to help the nurse to her feet.

As Ed followed him around another corner, he stopped when the hall was empty. The accomplice seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

With his service revolver in hand, Sergeant Brown moved cautiously forward. Ed opened what appeared to be a utility room. The room was dark. When he looked around for Officer Whitfield, he could see that she also was checking rooms further along the hall. Brown pushed the door open with the nose of his revolver. He reached to see if he could find the light switch. There wasn't one that he could feel. Ed moved further into the room. That was when his world went black.


End file.
